Atropos Archives - Page 21 of 24 - Alex's Asteroid Astrology

October 1st, 2018 at 09:05am by Alex Miller

The Birth of the Slasher Film: Forty Years of “Halloween”

On October 25, 1978, in Kansas City, Missouri, director John Carpenter premiered his third feature film, “Halloween”, with a plot involving a psychotic, knife-wielding killer stalking a group of libidinous teens in a sleepy Illinois town on Halloween night. The movie starred Hollywood scion Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, in her film debut, with a role that would soon become known as that of “the final girl”, that is, the lone survivor of the killer’s rage. A new terminology was required, for “Halloween” broke unhallowed ground in the horror genre, essentially inventing the slasher film

September 7th, 2018 at 03:34pm by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Burt Reynolds

On September 6^th, 2018, noted actor Burt Reynolds suffered a heart attack and died at a Florida hospital. Reynolds was best known for his popular action films of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run”, but also received an Oscar nomination for his work in 1997’s “Boogie Nights”. During his heyday, Reynolds’ life was frequent tabloid fodder, with long-term relationships with singer and talk show hostess Dinah Shore, actress Sally Field (his co-star in the “Bandit” films) and TV personality Loni Anderson, whom he eventually married, then divorced.

August 28th, 2018 at 09:24am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: John McCain

On Saturday, 25 August 2018, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) succumbed to his battle with brain cancer, at his home outside Phoenix, Arizona, just four days before his 82^nd birthday. The six-term senator, a former Republican nominee for president, had garnered a reputation as a maverick nonpartisan, a truthful, principled political actor who chastised his fellow Party members as freely as the opposition.

August 20th, 2018 at 09:16am by Alex Miller

Aster-Obit: Aretha Franklin

On Thursday August 16, 2018 “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin relinquished her earthly title for a spot on the Celestial Choir. Franklin, aged 76, who had been fighting pancreatic cancer for 8 years, passed away at home while on hospice care, surrounded by family and friends. Her death elicited memorials, statements, tributes and reflections on her life from across the globe.

July 12th, 2018 at 09:20am by Alex Miller

Nicholas & Alexandra: A Royal Tragedy

July 17, 2018 is the centennial anniversary of the assassination of Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, his wife Empress Alexandra, and their five children. Forced to abdicate in March 1917 in the aftermath of a disastrous Russian defeat in World War I, the family was held in captivity in various locations for almost 18 months, prisoners of one or another faction in the civil war which followed revolution, ending their lives in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, before an impromptu firing squad.

June 29th, 2018 at 08:49am by Alex Miller

A Tale of Two Kitties

For those of you who may not be familiar, I’m not just a space rock junkie. I also manage a stray and feral cat colony in West Philadelphia; since 2007 we’ve found homes for about seventy cats, and have provided food, shelter, medical intervention and affection for several dozen more.